Sealy proposes mixed-use development near Capitol Park

By Jason MortonStaff Writer

Published: Sunday, April 7, 2013 at 3:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Saturday, April 6, 2013 at 11:28 p.m.

TUSCALOOSA | Sealy Management Co. has announced plans for a $20-$25 million mixed-use development at the corner of 28th Avenue and University Boulevard — the latest in a series of major projects proposed for downtown Tuscaloosa.

The development is expected to reach four stories, with a partial fifth story, contain 168 one- and two-bedroom units for a total of 221 bedrooms and have 5,190 square feet of retail space that could be expanded to almost 7,500 square feet.

Charlie Sealy III, vice-president of the company, said he hopes the yearlong construction project can begin in June.

“We want a diversity (of tenants),” Sealy said. “We don't want it to just be for college students.

“We're going against the grain in that respect.”

Sealy said the development will be similar to a project the company recently completed in Huntsville called the Belk Hudson Lofts.

Using a historic downtown building, Sealy oversaw its conversion into an upscale residential high-rise that has almost completely filled since its October 2012 completion.

Sealy said he had expected the Belk Hudson Lofts to appeal primarily to young professionals, but tenants have ranged across a wide demographic spectrum, from young professionals to empty-nesters.

“It's every generation that likes it,” Sealy said of the Huntsville development. “We're seeing this trend of people wanting to get back downtown.”

For the retail space in the Tuscaloosa project, Sealy said he hopes to attract a restaurant, coffee shop or something similar that will cater to workers downtown.

Construction will mean the elimination of the building that now houses R&R Cigars, which opened on the corner of 28th Avenue and University Boulevard in January 2012.

The future of R&R Cigars is unknown. Efforts to reach the owners, Reagan Starner and his father, Randy Starner, were unsuccessful on Friday.

The Sealy development is the latest in a string of developments to be announced, break ground or be completed in or near the downtown area within the past 15 months.

Leading the way is Chance Partners of Atlanta, which has completed two downtown projects — one residential and one multi-use — and is expected to get final approval from the City Council on Tuesday for its most ambitious project yet: a $42-

million residential and retail development on a 7.6-acre riverfront site that once housed Tuscaloosa Chevrolet.

In September, the City Council approved a deal with the Wilson Hotel Management Group, a division of Kemmons Wilson Inc. that oversees hotel development and operations, that will lead to the construction of a $27 million hotel at the corner of University Boulevard and Greensboro Avenue.

KC LLC, a conglomeration of investors and developers, is behind the development of single- and multi-family housing planned for the Country Club of Tuscaloosa, which is making its way through the city's approval process.

The Sealy project will require a rezoning before it can proceed. That request will go before the city's Planning and Zoning Commission on April 15.

Sealy also will need a 44-foot-by 350-foot strip of land, now owned by the city of Tuscaloosa, that runs along Third Street on the north side of the 2-acre lot.

City officials were asked last week to convey the land, which is an old right-of-way tract for a railroad. The City Council's Properties Committee voted to recommend declaring the property surplus, conducting an appraisal and preparing a legal description of the property in order to sell it.

The rest of the parcel is owned by Capitol Park Center LLC, the real estate arm of the Tanner & Guin law firm.

Tanner & Guin attorney Thomas Scroggins manages Capitol Park Center, and said the land — all except for the railroad right-of-way — had been acquired over the past 25 years in anticipation of constructing something that would be right for the area.

Scroggins said Sealy was targeted after the Huntsville project began to take shape because of the attention to historic preservation and detail that is featured in the Belk Hudson Lofts.

“We're definitely excited about the project,” Scroggins said. “We think it's going to be something different that you've not seen in downtown Tuscaloosa yet and it will bring a lot of attention to the Capitol Park area, which is sort of a treasure of our community.”

It's location puts it right next to the historic park where the state capitol once stood as well as the Tuscaloosa Amphitheater, the edge of downtown Tuscaloosa and the city's Riverwalk recreational trail. Because of this, Sealy said the sidewalks will be wide — 20 to 25 feet — in order to blend in with the Riverwalk that starts at Capitol Park.

“The location immediately struck us as a really neat place for a nice, mixed-use development,” Sealy said.

<p>TUSCALOOSA | Sealy Management Co. has announced plans for a $20-$25 million mixed-use development at the corner of 28th Avenue and University Boulevard — the latest in a series of major projects proposed for downtown Tuscaloosa.</p><p>The development is expected to reach four stories, with a partial fifth story, contain 168 one- and two-bedroom units for a total of 221 bedrooms and have 5,190 square feet of retail space that could be expanded to almost 7,500 square feet.</p><p>Charlie Sealy III, vice-president of the company, said he hopes the yearlong construction project can begin in June.</p><p>“We want a diversity (of tenants),” Sealy said. “We don't want it to just be for college students.</p><p>“We're going against the grain in that respect.”</p><p>Sealy said the development will be similar to a project the company recently completed in Huntsville called the Belk Hudson Lofts.</p><p>Using a historic downtown building, Sealy oversaw its conversion into an upscale residential high-rise that has almost completely filled since its October 2012 completion.</p><p>Sealy said he had expected the Belk Hudson Lofts to appeal primarily to young professionals, but tenants have ranged across a wide demographic spectrum, from young professionals to empty-nesters.</p><p>“It's every generation that likes it,” Sealy said of the Huntsville development. “We're seeing this trend of people wanting to get back downtown.”</p><p>For the retail space in the Tuscaloosa project, Sealy said he hopes to attract a restaurant, coffee shop or something similar that will cater to workers downtown.</p><p>Construction will mean the elimination of the building that now houses R&R Cigars, which opened on the corner of 28th Avenue and University Boulevard in January 2012.</p><p>The future of R&R Cigars is unknown. Efforts to reach the owners, Reagan Starner and his father, Randy Starner, were unsuccessful on Friday.</p><p>The Sealy development is the latest in a string of developments to be announced, break ground or be completed in or near the downtown area within the past 15 months.</p><p>Leading the way is Chance Partners of Atlanta, which has completed two downtown projects — one residential and one multi-use — and is expected to get final approval from the City Council on Tuesday for its most ambitious project yet: a $42-</p><p>million residential and retail development on a 7.6-acre riverfront site that once housed Tuscaloosa Chevrolet.</p><p>In September, the City Council approved a deal with the Wilson Hotel Management Group, a division of Kemmons Wilson Inc. that oversees hotel development and operations, that will lead to the construction of a $27 million hotel at the corner of University Boulevard and Greensboro Avenue. </p><p>KC LLC, a conglomeration of investors and developers, is behind the development of single- and multi-family housing planned for the Country Club of Tuscaloosa, which is making its way through the city's approval process.</p><p>The Sealy project will require a rezoning before it can proceed. That request will go before the city's Planning and Zoning Commission on April 15.</p><p>Sealy also will need a 44-foot-by 350-foot strip of land, now owned by the city of Tuscaloosa, that runs along Third Street on the north side of the 2-acre lot.</p><p>City officials were asked last week to convey the land, which is an old right-of-way tract for a railroad. The City Council's Properties Committee voted to recommend declaring the property surplus, conducting an appraisal and preparing a legal description of the property in order to sell it.</p><p>The rest of the parcel is owned by Capitol Park Center LLC, the real estate arm of the Tanner & Guin law firm.</p><p>Tanner & Guin attorney Thomas Scroggins manages Capitol Park Center, and said the land — all except for the railroad right-of-way — had been acquired over the past 25 years in anticipation of constructing something that would be right for the area.</p><p>Scroggins said Sealy was targeted after the Huntsville project began to take shape because of the attention to historic preservation and detail that is featured in the Belk Hudson Lofts.</p><p>“We're definitely excited about the project,” Scroggins said. “We think it's going to be something different that you've not seen in downtown Tuscaloosa yet and it will bring a lot of attention to the Capitol Park area, which is sort of a treasure of our community.”</p><p>It's location puts it right next to the historic park where the state capitol once stood as well as the Tuscaloosa Amphitheater, the edge of downtown Tuscaloosa and the city's Riverwalk recreational trail. Because of this, Sealy said the sidewalks will be wide — 20 to 25 feet — in order to blend in with the Riverwalk that starts at Capitol Park.</p><p>“The location immediately struck us as a really neat place for a nice, mixed-use development,” Sealy said.</p>